His Lass Was Home
by BlueCorsola23
Summary: A short fluff about Brynjolf and my Dragonborn, Mallory, when they are reunited after the Battle of Windhelm.


The door's lock clicked as he turned the key. Brynjolf ran his fingers through his hair, before pushing open the door. To his surprise, when he entered the house there was a brown-haired Nord sitting at the kitchen table. Brynjolf's hand went to the dagger hanging at his belt, as the stranger turned to look at him.

"About time you showed up. Been waiting for a couple of days now," the stranger said, matching Brynjolf's gaze. Now that he could see the stranger's face, Brynjolf realised that he had seen this man somewhere before. After thinking for a moment, he remembered where.

"You're that one from Riverwood." The stranger nodded.

"Name's Hadvar."

"Brynjolf." Finally taking his hand off his dagger hilt, Brynjolf turned his back on the man and started towards the stairs.

"She's asleep." Brynjolf spun back around to look at the younger man as Hadvar continued. "She's fine, just exhausted. Probably best just to let her sleep for a while before going down there."

"And why would that be, lad?" Brynjolf asked. He couldn't help but be suspicious of the younger Nord being in _his_ lass's house. Why was he there?

"Because as soon as you open the door she'll wake up," Hadvar replied. His answer surprised the older man.

"And you know this how?" What had this man been doing with his lass?

"Tried that before, back in Whiterun," Hadvar said, pausing to take a swig from the tankard in front of him. "She took a blade to the shoulder while we were defending the city. Wouldn't let anyone tend to it. I decided to wait until she was asleep. I tried sneaking into her room to tend to her shoulder while she was sleeping, didn't even make it halfway to the bed before she caught me." Hadvar shook his head. "She threw a dagger at my head. That girl has some amazing hearing, even while sleeping. Good thing she was too tired to aim properly."

Brynjolf nodded, taking a seat opposite Hadvar. That sounded like her. At least now he knew that Hadvar hadn't done anything with her, or rather _to_ her. There was no way she would have let him. That eased the concern in the back of his mind somewhat.

"If I may ask, lad, why did you want to tend to her? Interested in her, are you?" The question slipped out before Brynjolf could stop himself.

"To be honest with you, I was once, yes. Until I saw you with her that time in Riverwood a few years ago. Looked pretty obvious to me that the two of you had something going on." He took another swig of his drink. "Figured then that going after her wouldn't end well for me. Nah, I wanted to help her for a different reason. "

"And what reason is that?"

"Because you weren't able to be there." His answer shocked Brynjolf. Because he wasn't able to...

"What do you mean?" Brynjolf asked. Hadvar smiled.

"That girl is reckless. The person she wanted there the most, who cares for her more than anything..." He smiled at Brynjolf. "They couldn't be there to help her through everything that happened. To look after her. I consider her a friend. In fact, by this point, she's almost like my sister, after all we went through during the war. Figured I could at least try to help. To look after her for you. Make sure she came back to you."

Brynjolf just sat there, staring at Hadvar for a few minutes, before a shadow crossed in front of him. She curled up on his lap, her head against his chest. Brynjolf wrapped his arms around her, enjoying the feeling of holding her again after so long apart.

"Another nightmare?" Hadvar asked. She nodded.

"Yeah. A bit annoying actually." Her voice was faint, tired. Brynjolf held her a little tighter, making sure she wouldn't slip off his lap as he shifted into a better position. _Another _nightmare? Brynjolf realised that her nightmare problem must have gotten worse because of all the fighting.

"Must make it hard to get any decent sleep." Hadvar was silent for a moment. "I'd best be going then," he said, standing up. Mallory spoke up as he turned to the door, her voice muffled against Brynjolf's chest.

"You don't have to leave right away, you know. You can stay another night if you want."

Hadvar looked at her, snuggled up against Brynjolf. The older Nord nodded. He didn't mind, not now. Hadvar had looked out for Mallory during the war, made sure that she made it back to Brynjolf in one piece. He could sleep in the old housecarl's room. Brynjolf would sleep with Mallory, anyway.

"There's plenty of space," he said. "And it's long way back to Riverwood, assuming that's where you're going of course."

Hadvar stood there for a minute, thinking.

"No, thank you," he said, looking back at the two of them. "You two will want some time alone. I'll stay at the inn tonight, get a carriage to Whiterun tomorrow." Mallory just nodded, too tired to answer. Brynjolf nodded in agreement with her. Hadvar walked over to the door that lead back into the city. Before he left, he turned back towards Brynjolf.

"Look after her. You've got one special lady there."

Brynjolf smiled down at the small Imperial woman on his lap.

"I know. I will," he said, looking back at Hadvar. The younger Nord nodded at him, before exiting the house, silently closing the door behind him.

"You've got yourself some loyal friends, lass."

The half-asleep Dragonborn smiled slightly before nodding.

"Hmmm. Yeah... Guess so." She attempted to snuggle against Brynjolf further, letting out a yawn as she did so. Brynjolf chuckled, shifting the tired woman so that he could properly carry her.

"Come on, lass. Back to bed with you," he said with a smile, walked towards the stairs.

Mallory was already asleep by the time he reached the bedroom. Brynjolf laid her down on the bed, pulling the covers on top of her. He stroked her hair, taking in the details of her face. She was safe, and she was home. He smiled. It hadn't felt right at the Guild this past year, with their Guildmaster off fighting for the Legion. But now the war was over, and once again his lass was in Riften, safe, with him.

He laid down next to her, drawing her into his arms. She snuggled against his chest, and Brynjolf saw her smile in her sleep. Somehow, he didn't think her nightmares would be bothering her tonight. He leaned back against the pillows, one hand behind his head, the other stoking the hair of the woman laying on his chest. Before long, Brynjolf found himself drifting off to sleep, and for the first time in over a year, he allowed it to come. They were together again. He didn't have to worry any more. His lass was home. And he wasn't letting her go again anytime soon.


End file.
